Alexa
Apparently, you’re not the only one who forgets to use Alexa
A lot of people forget about the assistant the week after they get it.

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When it comes to virtual assistants, there’s no bigger name in the world than Alexa. Amazon’s Alexa has been making its way into households since 2015 and almost everyone has at least heard of the smart assistant.
But, despite that recognition, Amazon has found that a lot of Alexa-device owners lose interest in the assistant pretty quickly.
A recent report from Bloomberg reveals some of the concerns that Amazon has internally over the retention of Alexa users. The publication got its hands on some internal Amazon documents showing the poor retention rates. The documents showed that up to 15 to 25 percent of new Alexa users don’t use the assistant at all after the first week.
As Dan Seifert, deputy editor at The Verge, notes in a tweet, “this would explain why Alexa incessantly asks “By the way, did you know i can do this?” after every simple voice request for the past year or so.”
Of all Alexa-enabled devices, devices with screens are the most popular among users. 74 percent of users who have an Alexa device with a screen use the assistant weekly, compared to 66 and 56 percent for the Echo and Echo Dot, respectively.
The documents also note that Amazon had projected a $5 average loss for every Alexa device sold in 2021. Selling the devices at a loss was part of Amazon’s plans to use Alexa devices to draw more customers into more of the company’s services.
But it’s not working that way so far. Most Alexa users just use the assistant for everyday, menial tasks, like setting timers for cooking, listening to music, or building grocery lists. This is probably why Alexa devices have been nagging customers about the additional things that they can do.
Still, Amazon is very focused on progress for Alexa devices. A spokesperson responded to Bloomberg, saying “The fact is that Alexa continues to grow…and [it] is used in more households around the world than ever before.”
READ MORE: Alexa literally encouraged kids to play a game that electrocutes them
Sure, more people are using Alexa, but it doesn’t look like they are using the assistant in a way that Amazon had planned. It will be interesting to see how the assistant evolves over time as the company adjusts its expectations.
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